I remember when that record came out (GRACELAND – the one with DIAMONDS ON THE SOLES OF HER SHOES). I loved it so much. I played it over and over. And there’s even a song dedicated to me on it…YOU CAN CALL ME AL. He has a new song that just came out this year that I LOVE LOVE LOVE too. Kind of relevant to my health care conundrum.

You can barely make out my wheatgrass operation in the left side of my living room photo. It’s all records and wheatgrass. (That’s where it’s at. The secrets to healing).   Anyway, as you can see I have a nice little supply of wheatgrass going.  My boyfriend bought 35 lbs. of seeds.  So, I’m going to town.  I’ve actually been putting off writing this post because I have so much to say about this.  If you’ve been following my blog for any length of time, you will know of my WHEATGRASS ADDICTION.

I even made a VIDEO ABOUT HOW TO GROW IT YOURSELF. I have to say that in the course of trying to heal myself, I have tried many, many things. And to be honest, a lot of them didn’t work. But wheatgrass is the cheapest, most powerful thing I’ve tried. And yet, most people are reluctant to try it. I think that most people find it difficult to fit into their lifestyles. But I actually think that’s part of the point that the grass is trying to make to us. If you are willing to listen to it.

I go in and out of sync with it. Truth be told. But right now, I’m in big time. How do I know this? Because the grass lets me know when it’s happy. When it’s perfectly happy, it makes these perfect little dew drops at the tip of each blade. They look like diamonds!

How amazing is that? I am on a wheatgrass roll! My little trays have been coming out so perfectly. So green! With diamonds! And no mold.

And can I just tell you how amazing this stuff is for your LIVER? It’s truly profound. So much so that it probably deserves it’s own post. But I will say this…Right now, I am breaking through some huge barriers that have been holding me back for a long, long time. And I truly believe a lot of it has to do with this grass. More on this later. Wish me luck! Next week, is my follow up with the NEUROSURGEON. I’ve been kind of in denial about this since everyone has been gently bringing up the idea of back surgery with me (an idea which I am not really in sync with). Don’t worry though. I’m not nervous. I’ve already decided that I am an empowered being and the ultimate decision rests with me.

I just posted a new video for my UNCOOKING SHOW about SQUARE FOOT GARDENING. It walks you through the process of setting up a square foot garden.

I live in an apartment and don’t have any land of my own. So this is a little insight into the world of community gardening. Anyone can do it. It’s easier than you think!

This episode also features another musical guest, MARY BUE (currently of Seattle but not for long). Check out her song ‘The City Trees’ (which incidentally was mixed by my BOYFRIEND).

Last weekend, I attended an open house at BOSSY BOOTS URBAN FARM. Bossy Boots is one of the local food businesses which also sells products on KRISTEN’S PORCH (a revolutionary concept in local food – or maybe a welcome return to the old fashioned ways).

I was so amazed at how much food they were able to grow in a small space. It wasn’t too small. A backyard. But it just goes to show how much unrealized opportunity there is out there.

Look at their amazing vertical squash. It’s beautiful and inspiring.

Here is Peter (a fellow PORCH LOUNGER) checking out the farm.

These lovely ladies are the proprietors of this amazing farm, Sarah and Megan. Kudos to them for being part of the new local food system. Way to go, ladies.

This is Abby. She did her first ‘Cooking with Abby’ demo. She made a lovely quinoa, kale, cucumber salad featuring fresh farm vegetables. She whipped that up right on the farm. What a pleasant afternoon! You would have never know that we were having a heat wave. You would also never have known that this was her first cooking demo. She was a pro. Great job, Abby!

YUM!

Well, the view is a little cloudy these days, but the light is still getting through. Though admittedly, there were a couple days last week when I wasn’t so sure. If you have been reading my blog for a while, you will know that I am slowly recovering from a couple different accidents (a TOXIC EXPOSURE and a CAR CRASH). These have been inspiring a number of complications which I am discerning how to navigate. I haven’t figured out all the answers yet, but I can tell you that the outcome is destined to be something unusual. A lot of issues related to this struggle are climaxing right now. In a big way. It’s complicated. As such, I’m going to break them down over a few posts. As I try to digest them.

One of my big dramas this week has been with my eye. I was sitting in my apartment, typing on my computer last week. Seemingly out of nowhere, I started to get this really dry feeling in my eye at the same time that it felt like there was a foreign object in it. At first, I thought I got an eyelash in my eye. But when I looked in the mirror, I found this…

A big, ugly, growth on my eyeball. Attractive, right? Now before you get too freaked out, I should tell you that it’s not contagious. And on top of that, this EXACT SAME THING HAPPENED TWO YEARS AGO. It’s some IMMUNE SYSTEM MALFUNCTION, episcleritis. The last time this happened, I was freaked out. They referred me to an immunologist who I waited five months (on pins and needles) to see.

I went through all manner of testing (which I should add I am still paying off). And where did that get me? Pretty much nowhere. The doctor at the time told me that I didn’t have lupus…YET. Well, last week after this happened, my doctor told me I should go back to rheumatology and get checked (essentially exactly where I went two years ago…for the second time). This would have been my third trip to rheumatology. At this point, I had a meltdown. Seriously. What is the point? Every time I go, it’s this horribly expensive ordeal that’s really stressful, they never figure out anything, and at least half of the time someone (who shouldn’t even be licensed to practice medicine) tells me I’m a hypochondriac. NO WAY, JOSE. I’m not doing that AGAIN.

At first, I demanded to get sent to the Mayo. I was really upset. The good news is that this spurred a heart to heart with my doctor that was long overdue. The bad news is that they don’t know what is wrong. It is likely some variation of autoimmune disease. This is completely NOT SHOCKING to me. Unfortunately, autoimmune diseases are hard to diagnose anyway. Especially weird ones. It could be that it’s lupus. Or it could be something else. Whatever it is, it’s not lighting up the classic profile of test results. So they basically just keep an eye on me. And watch out for more complications until they can figure it out. This conundrum has caused a number of complications in my life that also climaxed this week. Epic sagas which deserve their own post. But in essence, I’m not even sure if I want them to figure it out honestly. Because if they do, all they can do is put me on steroids for the rest of my life. If you have been reading my blog for a while, you will also know that my LIVER IS NOT RIGHT. So while I would appreciate the validation, I don’t think that is ultimately a viable path for me. Not if I want to live anyway. Have I mentioned that this has been going on for five years? This is difficult enough for me to digest, and I’m a fairly open-minded, free spirit. My poor mother is about to tear her hair out. Yesterday, she hung up the phone on me because I decided to wait on the Mayo. Interestingly, this was my mild drama from last week. There’s a lot more of that coming down the pipe. Let me tell you…

In other more inspiring news, my garden is looking great! Here is my KALE FOREST. On the end, we have a couple rows of dino kale. The rest is green curly kale. The two plants that are flowering are actually the two that survived the winter. Amazing! I have been munching off of this bed a lot this week. We had a few nice rainstorms that really perked up all my lettuces.

Speaking of, check out my other lettuces. Looking good!! The swiss chard and the romaine are looking mighty fine! I filmed a video for PRL TV of me setting up my garden beds this year. I hope to have that ready soon.

I have some arugula and WILD SPINACH that is going to peak soon too. I love summertime! My grocery bill is going down, down, down.

I also picked some perfect alpine strawberries the other day. These are the best berries I will eat all year. So good! They are red all the way through. Not like the big white in the middle ones you get at the store.

So all in all, I’m hangin’ pretty tough out here. I don’t think I have ever experienced such dramatic and rapid change in my life as I am currently experiencing. And I should add that I am a change embracing bohemian type of girl. But this. This is truly epic. More on that later…

Well, I think it’s fair to say that I’ve had my head in the clouds lately while I contemplate my next move. If you’re just tuning in, I found out last week that I have a ‘FISSURE’ IN A DISC in my lower back. I just had a follow up with my doctor and learned some interesting things. It could be that there is just a rip in the disc OR it could be that it’s actually ruptured and the goo is leaking out. They can’t tell for sure until they do a discogram. Needless to say, my head is spinning with possibilities. Like, what does this mean for my nascent CHEF BUSINESS? Do I have time for this? Can’t they see that my business is taking off? I mean, don’t they know that I’m HUGE IN NEW YORK? (Kind of like the Tom Waits song. BIG IN JAPAN). Admittedly, this is not exactly how I planned things would go. But really, none of this has gone ACCORDING TO PLAN, and it hasn’t stopped me yet. It’s just a matter of unlocking the key to the silver lining. Right now, I’m still a bit puzzled…trying to make some sense of it. I just have to remember to stay open to the answers.

In the meantime, gardening is a great way to keep your feet on the ground while you contemplate possibilities. This is my up and coming kale forest. I had one LAST YEAR too. Though last year, I didn’t get to tend to my garden as well as I would have liked because of the ACCIDENT. Actually, last year my garden was kind of a chaotic mess. This year is going to be better. I can tell. The weather is already being much more cooperative.

This bed is a little more heterogeneous than the kale forest. It’s got tomatoes, herbs, peppers, and several varieties of lettuce/greens. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE GARDENING? I filmed a video of me setting up my garden this year for PUNK RAWK LABS TV. It’s going to be a good one…

These cute little arugula sprouts that are just starting to see the light of day. This year, I think I timed things better. So that everything won’t come due at the same time. Hopefully this will help me eat things more efficiently.

This little guy is a wild spinach seedling sprouted from the BLACKBIRD NATURALS seeds I GOT IN THE MAIL recently. They are purple! The swiss chard behind it is also looking lovely. It’s just starting to perk up.

The strawberry plant is starting to flower too. Soon, I will be enjoying the best strawberries I will have all year. I can’t wait.

This is a glass of raspberry lemonade I made for myself right before I took my bike ride to the garden. I just threw a couple raspberries in at the end and did a pulse. Mmm…so good! I highly recommend this. A very refreshing pre-bike ride delight for a hot summer day. Summer comes in short spurts up here in the NORTH COUNTRY. So you’ve got to appreciate it while you can.
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Here is me riding my bike over the mighty Mississippi on my way home from the garden. I try to ride my bike there a few times a week as part of my physical therapy. I love having a reason to check in with her (the river). She has inspired so many great works of art.

One of my favorite songs about her is BIG RIVER by JOHNNY CASH. I love how he talks about meeting her accidentally in St. Paul, MN. Just like me. I live in St. Paul, but my garden is in Minneapolis (just across the river).

Here’s a pic of the Minneapolis skyline from the Mississippi River bridge the other day. Part stormy. Part inspired. That’s pretty much me right now in a nutshell.

Look what I got in the mail the other day! A beautifully wrapped package from BLACKBIRD NATURALS. If you haven’t heard of them yet, you should definitely check them out. The company was started by Anthony (THE RAW MODEL, I’ve been following his blog for a long time), Alexandra and Andrea Maw.

I can’t get over how pretty the package was. Lots of good intentions went into this.

I won this package of their wild green seeds (lambsquarter, wild spinach, and dandelion) from their forum, REPLANT PARADISE. This is such a beautiful thing. They are building food forests and packaging up wild seeds. With companies like MONSANTO contaminating our food supply with genetically engineered and copyrightable mutant seeds, it’s good to know that there are people out there doing things right. I can’t wait until the snow melts so I can plant these. These wild greens are going to be so good for my ailing LIVER (esp. the dandelion)! It will be interesting to see how this goes over in my community garden. I know at least one gardener is NOT going to be happy about me planting dandelion.

Here’s to shaking things up!

I am some big news to announce today. You might remember THESE? My very own line of kale chips! These kale chips have done a lot for me.

They NOURISHED ME BACK TO HEALTH after my ACCIDENT. And now they are my perfect physical therapy. I can’t say enough good things about them. These little guys are so healthy, it’s amazing.

So far, I’ve been getting a pretty enthusiastic response to them. From vegans and non-vegans alike. After all, what’s not to like about kale chips?

Last week, I shipped my first case to the CROW WING FOOD COOP in Brainerd, MN!

So far, this is the only store that carries them, BUT you can now order your very own kale chips ONLINE! What’s more? Yesterday, I put out a special offer to subscribers of my eZine (<--Links in margin) explaining how to have a free bag mailed to you. There is still one bag left. That one lucky person COULD BE YOU!

We have had some freakishly warm weather (for Minnesota) the last week or so and I am LOVING it. I missed a lot of summer this year (as I was RECOVERING my accident). So now is my chance to soak it all up. Consequently, my garden is a little wild this year (not that there’s anything wrong with that).

One of my fellow gardeners grew a communal bed of flowers! How lovely is that? It sad to say goodbye to gardening season.

I have really gotten into juicing garden harvest. It’s so luxurious (esp. when you consider how much it would be to BUY all this).

My physical therapy right now involves BIKE RIDING. This is a scene from my bike ride to the garden. I have to cross the mighty Mississippi River to get there. (It seems like a trek, but before you get too impressed I should mention that it’s not actually that far. And I have to walk my bike part of the way. But I’m getting there).

Still, things are definitely looking up out here. I’m moving a little slow these days, but you know what they say about slow and steady…I’m just saying!

Well, it’s been so long that I feel like I have lots to catch up on. Here’s the view from my new chef’s table. It’s turned into a perch for kitty. She loves it up there by the WINDOW. I love that window too. Spectacular sunsets and good vibes. Check out my boyfriend’s gigantic vinyl collection. I’ve been catching up on all this while I’m working, and it’s truly wonderful. You can also catch a glimpse of my window garden…

My new place has south facing windows! Perfect for growing WHEATGRASS and SPROUTS. I’ve got my wheatgrass system down now. The trays I’ve been growing lately have been coming out beautifully. I’m really trying to focus now on healing and restoring my LIVER, and these little trays of wonder are definitely part of the plan. OH. I should mention that there is a video for PRL TV that details how you can grow your own WHEATGRASS GARDEN. You should check that out.

My chef table is overflowing right now with garden goodness. It’s amazing. I love this time of year. It’s so abundant that I think it deserves it’s own post (coming soon). Today, I’ll just focus on my evolving kitchen.

Speaking of, look at this amazing stand mixer I got at a yard sale last week for $25!!! Can you believe it? I asked the girl if it had all the parts. And she said, ‘Well, it’s missing the meat grinder…’ How much more perfect could it be?

As you can see I have a few batches of KOMBUCHA going there. It’s so amazing. Look at the elegant lattice it forms. Very interesting.

This is also new. My multiple dehydrator shelf. For my burgeoning kale chip empire (which also deserves it’s own post – coming soon).

Ok. Well, I gotta run. I need to make lots of chocolate truffles for a wedding reception tomorrow…

Look at me! I made it to the garden the other day with my walker. I can’t really water yet, but it’s nice to be around all the butterflies and greenery.

For those that haven’t gotten the memo, I had a little CAR CRASH the other day. It’s funny how euphorically happy I’ve been since. It’s like it triggered some biochemical happiness center.

The other car hit me ride at my driver door. I’m not sure how hard, but I remember seeing her bumper on the ground when they were carrying me away to the ambulence.

My boyfriend took this picture of the seat I was sitting in when he went to pick up our things out of the car. So far, they’ve found three fractures in my hip. So I guess you could say I’m mobility challenged. But I feel really lucky. It could have been a LOT worse. I am so grateful to be here. I have a whole new perspective on things.